Roots Archives Forum

Don't you just love his singing style? Amazing! Does anyone know if he s still performing/alive? What albums do you cherish or hate?

yes he is alive and yes he still performs. i am more a fan of scattered songs here and there like ballistic affair or mr smart or mother liza or meaning of life or any number of them than his albums but i did recently get a "greatest hits" cd on hitbound/channel one that is killer.

one love
jah bill

You can put me in the "love" category. He can be a bit hit or miss, but who in reggae isn't? Also, I think he transitioned pretty well to dancehall. I loved "Talk Bout Friend" single from the early nineties. He has a recent video on the Greensleeves site. Song's nothing special, but he shows off some wicked dance moves!

Mostly, though, I listen to him on comps. I do like this one a lot:
http://www.roots-archives.com/release/889

Shame & Pride, and I Don't Like it are classics.

you might also check out that dennis alcapone release on RAS records, i forget the title (universal rockers maybe?), but all riddims alcapone toasts over are leroy smart riddims and its a very nice but understated, obscure release.

one love
jah bill

I like Leroy Smart voice, he is an original. I don't even care that he is off-key sometimes!
True ghetto style.
He is awesome live onstage.
Met him a few times since the 80s...he is some character!

I love Leroy Smart. He's got a great sound when he sings. "All of My Love" is a great tune.

Check the track 'Man is so Great'.

I like him a lot. I like his bravado - it always seems like a put on - a bit tongue in cheek.
Very distinctive voice, his own individual style. Always like to hear an original sounding singer.

I am not a King. Probably should be titled I AM a King! Sounds like that is what he means...'I'm only a Star, a Superstar that shines all day long' !!! Great track.

Love his little part in Rockers too. I think he loved it too. It looked that way!

I have to say he is generally a bit limited lyrically but it doesn't really bother me because his style is so engaging.

And, he seems to be singing IN key most of the time to my ears, he just chooses to hit different notes that a more standard singer wouldn't. Maybe that's just my take.

I suppose what I know is mostly the Bunny Lee stuff he did which is almost all really good.
Is there a 'ole 'eap more I should be checking?
I have been meaning to dig deeper in to his stuff so any recommendations are welcome.

from what i've heard from him i like "ballistic affair" and "i don't like it" and that's about it.

Ballistic Affair is good, when I bought it, it came with a free bonus 12" of Jahovia which is also a quality tune.

Definitely love him, "Superstar" was one of the very first reggae albums I bought, his voice his one of the most powerful in reggae and sounds in tune to me, I bet he could do well if he tried covering a few soul standards as well. An album of Edwin Starr cover versions would do it!